The Bermuda National Trust has expressed concerns that living coral might be damaged if it is transplanted to make way for a new marina on the site of the old Lantana Colony Club in Sandys.

But the project's architects and Government defended the procedure, pointing out that transferring coral from place to place is straightforward and safe, provided it is done properly and overseen by experts.

The preliminary application for the 25-berth marina was approved by the Planning Department last December after Government's Marine Resources Board backed plans to "carefully transplant" specimens of hard and soft corals from the sea bed to "a similar habitat" nearby.

Bermuda National Trust spokesman Peter Drew said that while the Trust did not oppose the application outright, it did have concerns over whether it should be permissible for coral to be moved since it is a protected species.

"We think a precautionary principle needs to be observed in respect to relocating corals. It doesn't seem that in Bermuda this is a tried and tested method yet."

Mr. Drew said the BNT's worries focussed on the fact that there were no safeguards in place to ensure that such a procedure would be done properly, and also that not enough research had been done to find out whether it actually works or not.

"There are a lot of questions that we would like answered. There is no real scientific basis to say that corals can be relocated successfully. Without information and research being presented, we have difficulty accepting this."

Mr. Drew said the BNT was also "uncomfortable" with the idea that transplanting corals "changes the emphasis of the laws regarding protected species.

"These species should only be moved if it can be done with their full health being guaranteed," he said. However, the site's architect Harry Conyers said the plans had been approved by the Planning Department after having been reviewed by the Marine Resources Board.

"Applications such as this are so environmentally sensitive that layers of control have to be met. We met with the relevant authorities, they approved it and that is the end of it."

He added: "The methodology that we are using works. For hard and soft corals it works."

Mr. Conyers also noted that the Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR) had conducted an environmental impact assessment of the proposal and that they "did not have a problem with" the transplanting of corals. The Royal Gazette was unable to contact BBSR marine biologist Dr. Joanna Pitt, who helped in the research for that assessment. But Department of Environmental Protection director Dr. Tom Sleeter said transplanting corals is an environmentally friendly procedure. "It is very easy to transplant coral without harming them and its been done on a number of occasions. As long as it is done in a professional manner, it is pretty straightforward with a high degree of success and survivability."